The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club is preparing to file an injunction and a lawsuit against the government of B.C. after the province’s Community Safety Unit seized product from the unlicensed medical cannabis store’s new location.
Club founder Ted Smith believes between $80,000 and $100,000 worth of merchandise and more than $30,000 in cash were seized in the raid on March 23.
“Our club is not a group of deviant law-breakers,” Smith wrote in an open letter to B.C. Premier David Eby. “Our compassion club is dedicated to helping people in pain, patients with incurable physical ailments and those suffering serious mental health problems. We are doing everything possible to work within the legal system without compromising the needs of our patients.”
Smith and the store are also facing nearly $6.5 million in fines based on previous enforcement.
“We have tried to be patient, allowing bureaucratic procedures to play their course as we argue against the massive $6.5 million in fines issued last year,” Smith said. “The City of Victoria has repeatedly written letters of support for us to Health Canada and the B.C. Cannabis Secretariat. However, recent actions by the Community Safety Unit have seriously threatened the club and its patients, giving us the incentive to reach out to you.”
READ MORE: Victoria cannabis club gets third raid, already facing $6.5 million in fines
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